. . . and when the rollers wear, see if someone like crankenstein will let you purchase some steel ones.

It's not about fanaticalism (is that a word ).

It's about being realistic. Practical.

Let's say this guy actually goes to all the trouble and expense of designing and building a mill around some random piece of scrap aluminum he finds in a junk yard. Do you really think in two months when the knurl is gone and he's made several batches of beer with aluminum chip in them, that the center distance and length will allow him to just slap in rollers from a Crankenstein?

He came here looking for practical advice, not a bunch of pom-pom waving, we’re all winners, cheerleaders.

Shouldn't we save the guy some time and aggravation and tell him it's a bad idea?

Yeah, I'm seriously

had to add:

My Barley Crusher is pretty well designed.
Since the (steel) rollers are getting worn may be I should pull out the 1-1/2" one's and try ordering up some 2" one's from Crankenstein. All I have to do is make new end plates. Oh, the side plates are wrong too. And damn the hole in the base is wrong. Crap the shoot won't fit now . . .

Can't really reply to what's below without the wrath of the Mods, but damn (I really want to )

Good night.

__________________ Sent from my POS computer because I refuse to own a smartphone!

I appreciate the ideas.
My plan is to build a mill around what I can find. This is 6061 aluminum. It has an aggressive enough knurl to grab onto really firm, but not so aggressive that it would tear you skin... make sense?
I think I will learn A LOT from building this mill, even if I just use it for a few brews... I can then take what I learned and properly design a mill in SolidWorks (which I operate daily) and get my machine shop that I work with to make me one out of SS!!! I just want to learn some lessons on "found" materials before junking up a bunch of SS!

Let's say this guy actually goes to all the trouble and expense of designing and building a mill around some random piece of scrap aluminum he finds in a junk yard. Do you really think in two months when the knurl is gone and he's made several batches of beer with aluminum chip in them, that the center distance and length will allow him to just slap in rollers from a Crankenstein?

He came here looking for practical advice, not a bunch of pom-pom waving, we’re all winners, cheerleaders.

Shouldn't we save the guy some time and aggravation and tell him it's a bad idea?

Yeah, I'm seriously

had to add:

My Barley Crusher is pretty well designed.
Since the (steel) rollers are getting worn may be I should pull out the 1-1/2" one's and try ordering up some 2" one's from Crankenstein. All I have to do is make new end plates. Oh, the side plates are wrong too. And damn the hole in the base is wrong. Crap the shoot won't fit now . . .

Can't really reply to what's below without the wrath of the Mods, but damn (I really want to )

Good night.

I dunno about you, but if I had some aluminum stock that was already knurled, it would take me an afternoon, a six pack, and a decent set of tools to whip out an acceptable grain mill just from the scraps laying around in my garage. It would more than likely be able to accept new rollers, or be easily adapted to them. I see no aggravation, just satisfaction at having had built something (and learned a thing or two) instead of shelling out cash for someone else to do it.

Aluminum chips? God forbid he mash the grains that he mills with it, use said grains to filter the wort (thereby getting rid of the aluminum chips) and perhaps, just perhaps, uses an aluminum kettle. 99 problems...

I suppose we all ought to go out and buy Blinchman kettles cause it'll save us the aggravation of adding to a plain kettle, or modifying a keg.

I dunno about you, but if I had some aluminum stock that was already knurled, it would take me an afternoon, a six pack, and a decent set of tools to whip out an acceptable grain mill just from the scraps laying around in my garage. It would more than likely be able to accept new rollers, or be easily adapted to them. I see no aggravation, just satisfaction at having had built something (and learned a thing or two) instead of shelling out cash for someone else to do it.

Aluminum chips? God forbid he mash the grains that he mills with it, use said grains to filter the wort (thereby getting rid of the aluminum chips) and perhaps, just perhaps, uses an aluminum kettle. 99 problems...

I suppose we all ought to go out and buy Blinchman kettles cause it'll save us the aggravation of adding to a plain kettle, or modifying a keg.

I appreciate the ideas.
My plan is to build a mill around what I can find. This is 6061 aluminum. It has an aggressive enough knurl to grab onto really firm, but not so aggressive that it would tear you skin... make sense?
I think I will learn A LOT from building this mill, even if I just use it for a few brews... I can then take what I learned and properly design a mill in SolidWorks (which I operate daily) and get my machine shop that I work with to make me one out of SS!!! I just want to learn some lessons on "found" materials before junking up a bunch of SS!

This project is full of win! Do it I would expect a few years of good service out of your new mill. Just remember to make up some steel rollers to replace them with before you quit the job I wish I had gotten into brewing before ending my days as a tool maker. All the materials and equipment I thought were useless to me before now hold a huge value.